123 Book Meme

I saw this over on Wicked Anomie: Sociology Run Amok.

The game: open the nearest book to page 123 and reproduce the 6-8th sentence.

"Her casket must be both comfortable and eternally durable. And-oh yes, do be sure her burial footwear is really practical? Perhaps it does not often happen just like that."

This excerpt is from The American Way of Death (Revisited) by Jessica Mitford.

This book is a fascinating glimpse into the world of the funeral industry. It is a business, remember, and they sucker people into parting with money when they are at their most vulnerable. Most people don't realize this because we will (hopefully) seldom have to plan many funerals in our lifetimes. One interesting point the book makes is that America is one of the only countries to practice embalming. Most Americans are under the impression that embalming is necessary for sanitary reasons, preserves the body for a long time, and is required by law. None of those are true. The main reason behind embalming is to temporarily preserve the body for open-casket viewing. Open-casket viewing leads to the heart of the sales, the casket. America is also one of the only countries who view bodies in an open casket.

The author was sarcastic, witty, and funny in this book. The excerpt I quoted is dealing with a (fake) supposed internal monologue that a person would have when considering what to buy for the deceased. Yes, there is a market for burial footwear, specially designed to fit the foot after the body goes into rigor mortis.

I could go on forever about the information I learned but I'll save that for another post. In the meantime, I am tagging ChocolateOrchid, InstantVintage, Chanel, Desiree, Marlo, Karrie B, Mrs.MaryMack, Lex, LittleMissKnobody, Muze, Vesper, TheJadedNYer, Zombietronics, and anyone else reading this. I want to see your excerpts!

Notes From The Weekend

*Bought tickets to see Erykah Badu in concert in March. So. Excited.

*I studied with a few classmates who all smoke (3 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday). This morning I noticed small red blemishes on my face. My precious face. They've tarnished it with their cancer sticks, tarnished it I say!

*I feel good about attempting to live more simply and healthier. Gave up cable and fast food and giving up items that serve no function around the house.

*In search of some fine bed linens. I want the white, hotel look.

*Check the poll in the sidebar. Out of 10 votes, only 2 consider Sunday as the start of a new week. Interesting.

*Upcoming book review blog post soon (maybe Wednesday if I have the chance).

*While looking at different funeral home websites for a research project, I stumbled upon this gem. He is apparently a DJ in addition to his funeral home duties. "We can funeralize your loved one at a price from..." and "This ain't no ranky-dank funeral home. This is a first class funeral home run by first class people" are sending me to an early grave myself. Please look at his website. For me. I am not responsible if you fade to black after you view it.

*Here is a recipe I cooked up. This was so full of yum due to the different seasonings:

Rigatoni with zucchini, diced tomatoes, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers. Used nutritional yeast to give it an almost parmesan flavor (you can find it in the bulk aisle of natural-food grocery stores and regular well-stocked grocery stores and it's full of vitamin B12), red pepper flakes, and chicken seasoning (which is basically paprika, garlic, onion, pepper, and some other spices). SO. YUMMY.

1st of the Month Book Discussion: Jurassic Park

I figured I should start living up to the 'bookworm' part of my blog title, lol. I am a heavy reader, but have just been too lazy to post about books I read/have read. I will try to make this a montly thing but it depends on my classes for the Spring semester and how they go. I am going to begin with a favorite book of mine from childhood; Jurassic Park. This book is like comfort food to me for some reason and it has remained a timeless classic. If you do not want to be spoiled on the plot or any details, please scroll past the rest of the post.

For those who are thinking of the movie; this book is nothing like it. The cheesiness, corniness, and kid-friendly-ness of the film is not replicated from the novel. It had to be watered down heavily to make it more palateable to the family masses I suppose.

Anyhoo, Jurassic Park is a science-fiction/thriller novel about an island where genetic experimenting has brought dinosaurs to life in a zoo-like theme park. Archaeologists, mathematicians, lawyers, and other relevant people visit to get a preview of the park and to verify accuracy and mention any safety concerns (besides the obvious safety concern of FRICKIN' DINOSAURS BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE!). As Ian, the mathematician mentions frequently in the book, chaos is inevitable; what can go wrong will go wrong.

The magical thing about this novel is its darkness. It is a very dark, chilling, creepy thriller. Included in the novel is anthropology, archaeology, medical facts, history, geography, biology, mathematics (chaos theory), and psychology. Crichton is a master of suspense and most importantly, detail. Authors who can vividly paint a picture with words and put you into the story are heroes of mine. If you are into any of the subjects I just mentioned, you will love this book.

If anyone has read this, be sure to de-lurk and put your favorite parts from the book in the comments! One of my favorite parts is when the velociraptors are stalking a group of the visitors and have them trapped in a room and are attempting to come through a window in the ceiling...the window has steel bars that are usually electrified but electricity has failed and they are chewing through the bars. Another favorite part is when one of the archaeologists is with the 2 children (by the way, in the book the girl is younger and very obnoxious and the boy is older and quite intelligent) and they are trying to evade the dilophosaurs (spitting venomous dinosaurs) and the T-rex.

Michael Crichton

I am sad. Michael Crichton had died. He was one of my favorite authors; he was such a great writer. He was the creator of ER which was one of the most awesome shows years ago...now, not so much. My mother and I used to tune in every Thursday(?) to watch it. He also wrote and directed Twister, one of the most broke movies that I love to this day. ("We have debris!....DEBRIS?!")

My favorite book of his is his non-fiction book, Travels. He talks about being disillusioned with medical school, and describes the trips he has taken around the world. The vacations don't turn out how one would normally expect and he put a hilarious and realistic perspective on vacations. He describes climing Kiliminjaro and how horrible it was, but how everyone pretends it's this great feat.

I grew up with Jurassic Park and The Lost World. They are so much darker, more haunting, and more fascinating in book form; I have re-read them so many times.

I also loved Prey and State of Fear; nobody did the thriller genre like him.

These books were comforting to me; when I wanted to relax and unwind throughout the years, I would pick up one of my dog-eared copies of his books and get lost in them. I am sad this voice is gone. He died of cancer. I had no idea he was 66 years old. There is something very admirable about people who have terminal illnesses and don't broadcast them to the world. I hope his family were able to have some nice moments with him at the end.

Great Journeys Books

I was reading a blog I love, when I came across a posting for a book series called Great Journeys. Aside from their collective aesthetic value, I would really enjoy reading books from this series. I am a sucker for a good travel book or stories from around the world. They're only 10$ each and about 100 pages. I wish I had known about these sooner so I could take a couple to the Bahamas!